LETTER:Legislature shouldn’t offer prayers

Cathy NewmanBaton Rouge, La.

Published: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 8:39 p.m.

Dear Editor: The recent editorial, “Nothing wrong with asking for help from above,” is offensive to the non-religious citizens of Alabama. Government representatives are elected to represent their constituents — including the Christian, the non-Christian religious and the non-religious.

The Alabama Legislature is a secular governing body and, as such, has no business incorporating religion into its meetings. Lack of belief in God is not a religion, despite the absurd claims of the editorial staff. The legislators are free to pray on their own time, at their own expense. There is absolutely no need for public prayer, except to blatantly reinforce the sentiment that the Legislature shamelessly values Christians’ beliefs and desires above those of the rest of the state’s citizens. Including prayer at government meetings is an intentionally divisive move and should be avoided.

But the editorial referenced herein goes beyond simply explaining an opinion in favor of government sponsored prayer and specifically denigrates non-Christians and separates them from the rest of Alabama’s citizens. The tone of the editorial is mocking, and the sentence, “We suppose a leading atheist could be invited to not pray at the beginning of the day if such an appeasement were requested,” is incredibly condescending and inappropriate. We non-Christian Southerners naturally have thick skin, but that is no excuse for such brazen relegation to second class status of those who do not share the editorial staff’s Christian beliefs.

<p>Dear Editor: The recent editorial, “Nothing wrong with asking for help from above,” is offensive to the non-religious citizens of Alabama. Government representatives are elected to represent their constituents — including the Christian, the non-Christian religious and the non-religious.</p><p>The Alabama Legislature is a secular governing body and, as such, has no business incorporating religion into its meetings. Lack of belief in God is not a religion, despite the absurd claims of the editorial staff. The legislators are free to pray on their own time, at their own expense. There is absolutely no need for public prayer, except to blatantly reinforce the sentiment that the Legislature shamelessly values Christians' beliefs and desires above those of the rest of the state's citizens. Including prayer at government meetings is an intentionally divisive move and should be avoided.</p><p>But the editorial referenced herein goes beyond simply explaining an opinion in favor of government sponsored prayer and specifically denigrates non-Christians and separates them from the rest of Alabama's citizens. The tone of the editorial is mocking, and the sentence, “We suppose a leading atheist could be invited to not pray at the beginning of the day if such an appeasement were requested,” is incredibly condescending and inappropriate. We non-Christian Southerners naturally have thick skin, but that is no excuse for such brazen relegation to second class status of those who do not share the editorial staff's Christian beliefs.</p>